The Value of Real Estate Video-Bios and Testimonials

In a new era of ‘social’ media and more direct communication with buyers, it’s important to remember to be sociable without the appearances of a hard sell. Realtors are very much used to the meet-and-greet with prospective clients so a natural extension of this is to display these skills on the web.

When we here at Union Street Media talk to our Real Estate clients, we frequently hear that before the dominance of real estate websites they received many more direct calls from perspective clients. These days, they say, there are so many more barriers before that initial phone call happens. Many potential clients want to avoid the pressure of a face to face meeting and are more inclined to make contact via email and contact forms. In this sterile online environment, the opportunity for the broker to display his or her knowledge and personality is limited, thus reducing their direct impact on the buyer. In effect, there is so much more run-around before the broker and buyer actually meet and make a personal connection. This is where the video-bio comes in. If used correctly, the video bio can break down these communication barriers to get across the knowledge and personality that you just can’t achieve through email.

We are proud to present our own video bio for Brian Boardman here, which we produced in-house. Clearly comfortable in front of a camera, you get to see a more personable view of him and not just a slick advertisement.

What are the advantages to video bios?

Introduce your agent to prospective clients.

It allows Realtors to communicate their goals as well as offer a call to action, up front, and answer commonly asked questions. This can save time for both the Realtor and potential buyers. It gives the agent an advantage over competitors who aren’t using video – adding credibility and additional value to both buyers and sellers. It’s a real opportunity to demonstrate their inter-personal style and include former clients who can provide testimonials and talk a bit about their experience buying through a particular agent.

That’s not to say, however, that a video-bio should view like an infomercial which to certain demographics can be a real turn-off. It’s an opportunity to display some transparency with buyers and garner trust — not just pay lip service to it.

Long shelf life compared to listing videos.

The only thing that will tangibly age will be the broker. It isn’t time sensitive, so the value and relevance of the video will be preserved and not disappear after a few months. Once a house is sold, a video tour becomes obsolete. So it is valuable to have other types of video as a constant reference and link. This can be posted to various other real estate hub sites such a wellcomemat.com or inmantv.com as a constant branding tool and tag.

Calling card

Finally, this type of video acts as a calling card as people look around for a Realtor. To be able to point people to this kind of media is another time saver and might increase the likelihood of a face-to-face meeting. If you have a Facebook profile or a Twitter account, you can promote the video — and to generate typically honest feedback on the quality or effectiveness of the video from these sites.

So if you think you have the chops for being on-screen, consider the bio video as another valuable marketing tool for you.